[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30773-30774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13163]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent Applicant Survey
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the extension of a currently approved
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public
Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 2, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0052 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K.
Fawcett.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Gerard Torres, Economist, Office
of Corporate Planning, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-4951; or by e-mail
at [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in the subject line.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
For several years the USPTO has supported an ongoing forecasting
program for patent application filings that includes the use of
quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Given the importance of
accurate application filing forecasts, the USPTO considers more than
one type of methodology. As part of this strategy, information from a
survey of the inventor community is included when formulating
application filing forecasts. In addition to using the survey as part
of a comprehensive approach to forecasting, the USPTO is also using
this tool in response to Senate Appropriations Report 106-404
(September 8, 2000). This report directed the USPTO to ``develop a
workload forecast with advice from a representative sample of industry
and the inventor community.'' A patent application filing survey
assists the USPTO in better understanding key factors driving future
application filings, such as newly emerging technologies.
The USPTO developed the United States Patent Applicant Survey as
part of the continuing effort to better predict the future growth of
patent application filings by understanding applicant intentions. The
main purpose of this survey is to determine the number of application
filings that the USPTO can expect to receive over the next three years
from patent-generating entities, ranging from large domestic
corporations to independent inventors.
In recent decades, the rate of patent application filings to the
USPTO steadily increased with expanding technological innovations.
However, newly emerging technologies, evolving business patenting
strategies, patent valuations and costs, and intellectual property
legislative changes, among other factors, may significantly impact
patent applicants' decisions to file applications at the USPTO. These
factors cannot easily be accounted for in other methodologies or
sufficient information is not available from databases or other
sources. Therefore, it is necessary for the USPTO to conduct the Patent
Applicant Survey to obtain information directly from applicants. The
information will allow the agency to anticipate demand and estimate
future revenue flow more reliably; to identify input and output
triggers and allocate resources to meet and understand customer needs;
and to reassess output and capacity goals and re-align organization
quality control measures with applicant demand by division.
The Patent Applicant Survey is a mail survey, although respondents
have the option to complete the survey electronically. They may also
provide their responses verbally over the telephone. A survey packet,
containing the survey, a cover letter explaining the purpose of and
outlining instructions for completing the survey, and a postage-paid,
pre-addressed return envelope will be mailed to all survey groups. The
USPTO plans to survey four groups of respondents: Large domestic
corporations (including those with 500+ employees), small and medium-
size businesses, universities and non-profit research organizations,
and independent inventors. The USPTO does not plan to survey foreign
entities and will rely on the European Patent Office (EPO) and the
Japan Patent Office (JPO) to provide forecasts of application filings
by foreign entities. Due to variances in filing and the varying needs
of the different patent applicant populations, the USPTO has developed
two versions of the survey: One for the large domestic corporations and
small and medium-size businesses and one for universities, non-profit
research organizations, and independent inventors.
The surveys do not have USPTO form numbers associated with them and
once they are approved, they will carry the OMB Control Number and the
expiration date of the information collection.
II. Method of Collection
By mail or electronically over the Internet when respondents elect
the online option to complete the survey.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0052.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; not-for-profit
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 400 responses per year. Of this
total, the USPTO expects that 267 surveys will be completed using the
online option.
Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) for all of the patent applicant
populations to provide their responses, with the exception of the
independent inventors. The USPTO estimates that it will take
independent inventors approximately 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to provide
their responses. These estimates include the time to gather the
necessary information, complete the
[[Page 30774]]
survey, and submit it to the USPTO. The USPTO believes that it will
take the same amount of time to complete the surveys whether they are
completed on paper and mailed to the USPTO or completed and submitted
electronically.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 140 hours per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $17,080 per year.
The USPTO estimates that 31% of the respondents completing these
surveys will be lawyers, about 9% will be legal assistants, and 60%
will have diverse occupations. Using the professional hourly rate of
$325 for intellectual property lawyers, a legal assistant specializing
in intellectual property rate of $100, and a rate of $20 for the
majority of the respondents, the USPTO believes that the average hourly
rate for completing these surveys will be approximately $122 ($101 + $9
+ $12). The professional rate used for the intellectual property
lawyers is based on the median rate for attorneys in private firms as
published in the 2009 report of the Committee on Economics of Legal
Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. This
report summarized the results of a survey with data on hourly billing
rates. The estimated hourly rate used for the legal assistants
specializing in intellectual property is based on the rates for the
2008 National Utilization and Compensation Survey, published in March
2008 by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Due to the
many different occupations that can possibly be held by the majority of
respondents, the USPTO is estimating $20 per hour as the hourly rate
for those respondents. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the salary
costs for the respondents completing these surveys will be $17,080.
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Estimated time Estimated Estimated
Item for response annual annual burden
(minutes) responses hours
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Large Domestic Corporations..................................... 30 27 14
Large Domestic Corporations (electronic surveys)................ 30 53 27
Small and Medium-Size Businesses................................ 30 18 9
Small and Medium-Size Businesses (electronic surveys)........... 30 37 19
Universities and Non-Profit Research Organizations.............. 30 5 3
Universities and Non-Profit Research Organizations (electronic 30 10 5
surveys).......................................................
Independent Inventors........................................... 15 83 21
Independent Inventors (electronic surveys)...................... 15 167 42
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Total....................................................... .............. 400 140
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Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0 per
year. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping
costs associated with this collection. Respondents do not submit filing
or other fees with the surveys. The USPTO provides postage-paid, pre-
addressed return envelopes for the completed mail surveys so there are
no postage costs associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, e.g., the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or
included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-13163 Filed 6-1-10; 8:45 am]
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